Gary Kubiak still was drying off from his Gatorade shower last weekend when Shannon Sharpe began trolling New England Patriots fans after the Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

Sharpe, a Hall of Fame tight end who spent 12 seasons with the Broncos, has developed quite a social media rivalry with Patriots fans in recent months, especially immediately before and after Denver beat New England in the AFC Championship Game to secure a Super Bowl berth. So when the Broncos emerged victorious Sunday, he immediately hopped on Twitter to gloat.

“Actually, as I was in the elevator, I was crafting that first tweet where we won and I had all the emojis with the guy with his eyes closed and his tongue sticking out,” Sharpe said Tuesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich.” “That was in the elevator, so it didn’t take long.”

Sharpe is a member of the Broncos family. He won two rings with Denver — he added a third with the Baltimore Ravens — while establishing himself as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. His outspokenness and his propensity for engaging social media critics ticks off some people, but for Sharpe, the thrill of the Broncos’ victory is enhanced by being able to rub it into Pats fans’ faces.

“Absolutely. After (the Broncos) had beaten the Patriots in the AFC title game, you heard all the responses: ‘Oh, we’ve seen this movie before. You’re going to get blown out again. There’s no way you’re going to beat Carolina,’ ” Sharpe recalled. “And not only did they beat Carolina, the fashion in which they beat Carolina makes it even more of a feat and enjoyment for me.”

Say what you want about Sharpe. He’s not for everyone. And he definitely can go overboard in his Twitter interactions. It’s hard to not find at least some humor in the whole situation, though.

“This is what I don’t understand. I love how (Patriots fans) all tweet me, ‘Shannon Sharpe celebrating like he played in the game,’ ” Sharpe said, obviously recognizing the irony of such tweets from fans. “What do you guys do? What division do you play in? Because I’m going to need to look you up in the media guide. I know a lot of the Patriots players, but when you say ‘we,’ are you a kicker, are you a holder, do you back up Gronk, are you Tom Brady’s backup? What position do you actually play?”

The Broncos’ Super Bowl victory probably is insufferable on so many levels for Patriots fans — Peyton Manning winning another ring, the AFC Championship loss still is fresh, etc. — but nothing can be more annoying than Sharpe flapping his gums and basking in Denver’s glory.